Senate unanimously approves suit-and-tie dress code

The Senate unanimously approved a suit-and-tie dress code in a resolution that came a week and a half after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that the decades-old unofficial policy would be relaxed.

Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney and West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin proposed the resolution with the new enforceable standards, which the Senate agreed to Wednesday by unanimous consent.

Before the bipartisan resolution, the Senate did not have a formally codified dress code, but members were expected to wear business attire on the chamber floor when they voted.

Schumer, a New York Democrat, had informed the Senate Sergeant at Arms earlier this month that senators could decide what they wanted to wear on the Senate floor, while staffers were expected to follow the unofficial dress code. 

His decision allowed Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), who normally wears sweatshirts and gym shorts, to vote in his usual attire.

Fetterman's office responded to the dress code resolution with a meme featuring "King of Queens" character Doug Heffernan, played by actor Kevin James, shrugging his shoulders.

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